One of those days

Oh my goodness, today was quite the day. For starters, I really did not want to go to school today, but of course I went. School was long, but it was okay. I got my presentation out of the way, it was no big deal, but once again I had trouble staying awake in class, I am quite sleep deprived. After school, I planned on going to the bank and finally making my appointment to open an account. However, a bunch of my friends were going to the MICEFA office, so I decided to go with them and then Mikayla was going to come back to my arrondissement and go to the bank and possibly lunch with me. Going to MICEFA was a bit pointless, and we had to ride the disgusting RER to get there, which of course I was not thrilled about. It's the smelly, sketchy version of the metro. Once we were done at the MICEFA office, we made the long ride back to my arrondissement, which involves 2 transfers and feels like it takes forever. When we were finally in my neck of the woods, we found the bank and walked in. I went up to the man and tried to ask him (in French) if I could make an appointment. He asked me if I wanted to speak English (because I guess I sound clearly American). This really frustrated me, because I came here to practice and improve my French, and yet none of the French people have the patience to hear me out when I speak French, they always insist on speaking English. So of course, I spoke to him in English, but he still had trouble understanding me, further frustrating me. Finally, Mikayla stepped in and helped with our communication. I was feeling quite defeated, but at least I finally made an appointment. We left the bank and headed to a Boulangerie/Patisserie. Mikayla got a lovely little raspberry tart and I got a chocolate eclair. We walked to the Champ de Mars and enjoyed our pasteries.

 I was still in quite a mood, I'm undergoing some more culture shock, which makes me sad. Anyway, we finished our pastries and just relaxed and enjoyed eachother's company. While we were sitting on the bench a stupid pigeon pooped on me!! That totally set me off and I really just wanted to go home and chill out. So I walked Mikayla to the metro station and climbed my way back up into my nest of an apartment. I had a Skype date with my best friend, Steven, in about an hour, so I was really looking forward to the comfort of a friendly face. But did that happen? OF COURSE NOT. This was the day that my apartment building decided to replace all of the internet wiring, so I had NO internet! So I crawled into bed and took a long nap in order to escape my reality. When I woke up, it was almost time to start my next au pair shift. So I made my way down to their apartment. I helped Solene and Matthieu with their homework, which never takes long, and then they really wanted to play some games. We played various games that involved speaking, and then we played hide and seek. Those kids are two rays of sunshine. They instantly raised my spirits and when I got home I was in such a good mood! I didn't even mind when I totally scorched my panini and filled my kitchen with smoke (it really is "one of those days"). It is amazing how an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old can completely turn my day around. Thank you Solene and Matthieu, you guys are amazing.